Sable's eyes widened at his question, and her face went pale. She stared at his sincere eyes and aura for a few seconds, taken aback. This made the shame she felt for fucking a random hunter in a sewer decrease dramatically. She hadn't expected such a sudden declaration, and her face softened as a rare emotion overcame her. She had never had a man dominate her so completely. On top of that, he took her most valuable possession and still offered his undying love to her, and she couldn't help but find it strangely endearing.
But she quickly gave herself back to reason and hesitated, not wanting to commit without knowing the whole truth of Bas' current state.
"Before I answer, I need to tell you something," she whispered solemnly, her face serious.
Sable remembered, of course, of her parents forcing her into an arranged marriage, an arrangement which she had fled to avoid her fate. She knew that her life would never be hers even if she agreed. She hesitated, unable to answer him, before finally speaking.
She told Bas how she had been running from the world and how she had been alone until Sid had given her the chance to start anew. She even admitted to going on a couple of dates with Sid, but things never went further.
Nor had she ever done anything like what she did tonight.
"I... I can't accept something like that. Not now," she said with solemn determination. "But I want to be more involved with you, even if it's not as your woman. I want to be with you, even if I must one day leave..."
Bas listened attentively, a deep furrow appearing on his brow as he heard the pain in Sable's voice. He wanted to erase that sadness from her eyes and finally realized that he shouldn't just offer her a contract of partnership; he would give her a chance to be a part of something bigger. Something he was previously uncertain about starting, but his reasons were becoming more ample.
Bas nodded slowly, taking all of Sable's words in.
"Good," he said, his lips curling into a soft smile. "I will never surrender you to another man, but I understand your plight. Then let's start a new adventure together."
The first part of his words made Sable's heart throb so intensely that she wondered if she had been poisoned. The latter half left her breathless. Understanding? Adventure? Why did none of this sound like anger or disappointment? He sounded more invested than before.
Sable felt like she couldn't follow this boy's train of thought.
He understood Sable's plight and respected her wishes. Bas had never been with a woman, so he was utterly enamored with Sable, his first. That experience was one he would never forget. It felt like they were in their own starry world and not one surrounded by grime and feces.
Bas felt he owed Sable more than this, considering where they were during their first time. No matter who Sable's parents arranged for her, he would take responsibility for her. He would burn them into ash no matter who stepped forward to block his path.
He smiled and offered her his hand to shake.
"Then let's do it a different way. Will you become my first vassal?" He asked. "I'm building a hunter hall, and I need someone dependable and capable of leading the group in my absence. I want that someone to be you."
Sable stared at Bazzy in disbelief. She hadn't expected to be asked to help him form a guild and was honored that he saw her as a capable leader. Taking such a superb lover as a leader sounded kind of...exciting, to say the least. As his second in command, they would likely have to spend much time alone to...strategize.
This gave her a reason to let this little pirate secretly plunder her booty. She already refused to have another partner after Bas made her experience such pleasure. Even if she had to marry that douche in the future, he would have to murder her to bed her. Sable only felt a bit upset, as there was no way a hunter this skilled wouldn't have more women.
He had a hunter harem; she just knew it.
Who knew how she would feel if she found out she took Bas' virginity that lasted two lifetimes?
She no longer hesitated, and with a smile, she grabbed Bas' hand and shook it firmly.
"Yes, I'll be your vassal," she said, her voice full of determination.
"Well...you maybe shouldn't be so hasty. Unfortunately, now that you've agreed, I won't let you go. But there's something you should know," Bas reached out his hand, which Sable took in hers, instinctively interlocking their fingers.
He then explained that his real name was Sebastian King, and they exchanged contact cards. Bas didn't have a mecha-hand, so he had to give Sable his hunternet ID.
"Sable Valentine..." Bas had some recollection of the Hunter Society's Valentine Family. They were one of the Big 3 families, so this marriage arrangement was likely no small matter.
However, Bas didn't care. No one could take the woman he had his eyes on if she was looking back. The Hunter Society would recognize Bas' feelings or not; it didn't matter either way. He hadn't spent his entire life dreaming of pursuing his happiness just to let them stand in his way.
More than 700 yards away in the sewage outlet, Bas was dashing back the way he came, alone. Luckily, he committed the path to memory, "Sheesh, who would imagine I would earn 63 gold and 2,500 silver credits in one day? I even stole someone's wife and found my first recruit. I can save her contact properly as soon as I get a mecha-hand."
Bas currently had Sable's contact info written down. He was terrified of misplacing it.
"Wait until mom finds out. She's going to freak out. If I did choose to stay in Mortalee, I could likely become a god-like existence with relative ease."
Bas slowed down and crept into a narrow pathway.
"Thanks to the silver token, I could slip away easier than a ghost, even with Sable behind me. Only a few people followed me, but I lost them easily enough," Bas knew he had made a big scene before escaping with a beauty.
Quite a few people had tailed him, but how could they outwit a great pharaoh?
Undoubtedly, many people wanted to taunt Bas or even rob him. Some of them were actually pursuing Sable to snatch her away. There were also cameras lined up throughout this corner of the sewage tunnels. He knew he couldn't escape the eyes of anyone with access to those cameras. He could easily avoid all the others with the silver token, though. His experience as a great pharaoh made him better at stealth than any mortal assassin.
"They said I would be able to challenge the champion. Should I go back and do so? Mr. Evans said I was injured and couldn't continue challenging, but that was probably just a reason to get me off the stage. Maybe I'll return in a day or two." Bas was only slightly interested in besting the so-called champion.
His main interest was money.
Mainly because this would make him the new champion, and Bas had no interest in holding such a title. How would he stay lowkey like that? Of course, the road to battling the Fourth Class Hunt Experts required him to do so. Being lowkey would simply take too long. He should have never participated if he wanted to stay lowkey.
Now that he had, why not go all the way up?
For now, Bas intended to comprehend the new hunt skill that had been developed in his Evil Dragon Sovereign Record. He felt unsafe but was lucky these color credits weren't just currency.
They were really rym crystals!
Bas used twenty gold credits and his silver token to establish a weaker version of the famed Heavenly Isolation Barrier formation. This formation only required fourth-class inscriptions, making Bas barely able to complete it. He moved his feet in a mysterious pattern, using soul power to write myriad soul runes.
After he was done, the narrow path released a bright white light before hiding Bas' figure completely. Unless a Grand Hunter showed up to hunt Bas down, he would be safe to formulate here.